Story

Dave Lizewski, an otherwise ordinary New York Cityhigh school student and the child of loving single father, takes his interest in comic books as inspiration to become a real-life superhero. He assembles a suit and mask, which he wears under his normal clothing, begins exercising, and practices things like walking on roofs, sating his ambitions for a time. He eventually seeks to fight crime, his first attempt at which leads to a severe beating and stabbing by thugs, followed by his wandering into the street and being hit by a van. He retains his secret identity, however, stripping off and hiding his costume before paramedics arrive.

Telling his father he was mugged, he undergoes intense physical rehabilitation, including four operations. He is released weeks later, and as soon as he is off crutches dons the suit once more and goes on patrol. When he saves a man from a beating, an onlooker catches the scene on a cellphone camera and uploads it to YouTube, turning Lizewski into an overnight sensation christened with the name Kick-Ass.

In school, the mugging excuse used to cover up his bruises spawns rumors Lizewski is a gayprostitute. Believing them, his longtime crush, Katie Deauxma, adopts him as a "gay best friend". Lizewski goes along with this in an effort to spend time with her. His father, worried about him, gives him a can of police-issue pepper-spray for protection.

As Kick-Ass, Lizewski sets up a MySpace account, so people can contact him for help. The first such request he investigates leads him to an apartment of violent lowlifes who try to kill him. He is rescued by a costumed young girl wielding a sword, who kills all the attackers and then leaves to join a grown man she calls Big Daddy, and who calls her Hit-Girl. The two disregard Lizewski and drive away. Lizewski later learns the police attribute the deaths to a criminal "turf war"; he also discovers online that Kick-Ass has inadvertently inspired a new subculture of people dressed in makeshift, original superhero costumes.

Promotion

Prior to the series launch a viral campaign featuring a short video of the main character of the comic, Kick-Ass, being "caught on tape" performing a heroic act was uploaded to YouTube and spread around the Internet. Later, a MySpace page was created, supposedly maintained by the character, where it was written that "Mark Millar [...] is doing a comic-book about me with [...] John Romita Jr.

A charity auction was held to name the main character. The winner, Dave Lizewski, chose his own name.

Each issue also singles out specific comic shops, crediting them for taking part in the "home-made effort" to promote the book and encourages readers to support them.

Collected editions

Film

A film version, in pre-production as of May 2008, was fully financed by Matthew Vaughn's MARV Films, written by Vaughn and Jane Goldman, and directed by Vaughn. The Hollywood Reporter gave the financed amount as $30 million, while Millar updated the figure to $65 million.

Aaron Johnson has been cast as the main character Dave Lizewski. Nicolas Cage will play a former cop who, in his quest to bring down an evil druglord, has trained his 11-year-old daughter to be the ruthless vigilante Hit Girl, being played by Chloë Moretz. Lyndsy Fonseca has been cast Lizewski's crush, Katie Deauxma. Christopher Mintz-Plasse has been cast as the previously unheard of nemesis The Red Mist.